1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to group communication systems, and more particularly to electronic group communications systems for remotely linking two or more geographically separated spaces for social interaction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic communication systems technology provides an amazing number of ways for people to communicate with each other. Everyday examples of such communication systems include telephones, answering machines and pagers. Communication systems that are prevalent in the work place include computer networks, electronic mail (“e-mail”), fax machines, electronic whiteboards, as well as telephone and Internet conferencing.
While these communication systems competently serve their purposes, there is a lack of devices that relay information concerning the presence of individuals at remote locations for social purposes. Functionally, the closest analog to a social presence device is the real-world situation of living next door to a neighboring house. In such a situation, a person would notice various things about the neighbor's house (and patterns in the neighbor's activity) that would allow one to initiate a conversation at an opportune time, if one so wished. For example, if a person's car is in the driveway, and the lights in the house are on, her presence is communicated to her neighbors.
Such ongoing contact with friends and family is a fundamental human need, and one that current technologies meet in a less than optimal way. The options for technologically facilitating lightweight communication are few. Most technological solutions for communication are too heavy handed or complex to be lightweight. When people are in the same room, they can quickly and easily engage in lightweight communication by looking up and saying something.
Electronic communication over a distance rarely provides equivalent affordances. To communicate using typical electronic communication systems, a user is required to follow the many steps involved in finding a phone number or address, turning on the computer, picking up the phone or equivalent procedures. In the electronic world, a user cannot communicate with another by simply looking up and saying something. In addition, the tools for communication tend to be devoid of any emotional context or personal content.
In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to have flexible and subtle methods and apparatus for a user to intentionally communicate presence to friends, family and significant others. It is further desirable to have methods and apparatus for communicating different types of presence in a variety of different ways.